Latin Cup

The Latin Cup was an international football tournament for club sides from the Southwest European nations of France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. In 1949, the football federations came together and requested approval from FIFA to launch the competition. Although FIFA granted approval for the competition to be played under international football guidelines at the time, the Latin Cup was not created nor organized by FIFA. European clubs could not afford hefty travel costs, so competition was staged at the end of every season in a single host country. The competition featured two semi-finals, a third-place play-off, and a final. This competition is considered a predecessor of European club tournaments, namely the European Cup, the first edition of which was held in 1955. Although the Latin Cup is acknowledged by UEFA, the competition is treated as a historical precursor to the European Cup and not a UEFA sanctioned competition. Given that UEFA did not create the Latin Cup, UEFA does not include the Latin Cup as an official trophy count.